Superman, Man of Steel: a superhero's life in pictures

Superman, Man of Steel: a superhero's life in pictures

Zack Snyder's much-anticipated Superman film arrives in cinemas this year, with British actor Henry Cavill playing the lead role. So we thought this was the perfect opportunity to bring you some classic pictures of the superhero from Krypton – from comic-book drawings to hit TV show Smallville, and many more along the way

Superman quickly captured the public's imagination. Here a helium inflated model rises over the Times Square crowd to lead the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in 1940. His effigy has continued to pop up at parades to this day

The first cartoon incarnation of Superman was produced by the Fleischer & Famous Studios in 1941 and ran until 1942. The Fleischer cartoons were responsible for Superman being able to fly. When they started work on the series, Superman could only leap from place to place (hence "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" in the opening). But they deemed it as "silly looking" after seeing it animated and decided, with Detective Comics's permission, to have him fly instead Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features

Kirk Alyn was the first actor to play Superman on screen in cinemas in the 1948 Columbia serial Superman which was comprised of 15 episodes. Here he arrives in the nick of time to save housewife (Jean West), from a fire in an apartment building

A poster advertises the 15 episode 1950 serial Atom Man vs Superman starring Kirk Alyn as the Man of Steel battling Lex Luthor, secretly the Atom Man who is blackmailing the city of Metropolis by threatening to destroy the entire communityPhotograph: SNAP/Rex Features

Superman (Kirk Alyn) saves Lois Lane (Noel Neil), girl reporter on the Daily Planet, from certain death as he stops her car just before it is about to topple over a cliff in the 1950 serialPhotograph: Underwood & Underwood/Corbis

The success of the movie lead to the television series Adventures of Superman which ran from 1952 to 1958. George Reeves as Superman, stands behind a group of armed men in a still from the series. The death of George Reeves in 1959 of a gunshot wound, aged 45, under disputed circumstances (officially ruled as a suicide) is said by some to have been the start of the 'Superman Curse' which is alleged to have claimed many victims

Fans had to wait until Christmas of 1978 for the next movie. Directed by Richard Donner, Superman was a huge critical and commercial success. Christopher Reeve took the starring role. Major stars Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman signed on to play Jor-El and Lex Luthor with Brando famously trousering $3.7 million up front, plus 11.75% of the gross profits from the film despite only being on set for two weeksPhotograph: Warner Bros/Allstar

1980s Superman II was another success despite stiff competition from Raiders of the Lost Ark. However 1983's Superman III didn't fare so well with fans feeling that Christopher Reeve's co-star, comedian Richard Pryor, played the whole film for laughs. Reeve appeared in a fourth film in 1987 but it was a flopPhotograph: Moviestore Collection/Alamy

Lois and Clark : The New Adventures of Superman was a television series that ran from 1993 to 1997. Superman's role was secondary to Clark Kent, played by Dean Cain, and the show centred around his relationship with Teri Hatcher's Lois Lane Photograph: Warner Bros/Rex Features

Another television adaptation, Smallville, premiered in 2001 and ran for 10 years. The series follows the adventures of Clark Kent (Tom Welling), who resides in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. Here he abuses his powers to check out Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), the girl next door

Bryan Singer directed the 2006 movie Superman Returns with Brandan Routh playing the superhero. The film received positive reviews and many award nominations. A sequel was planned for a summer 2009 release, but the project was later cancelled Photograph: Warner Bros/Rex Features